Kirby vs Verlander Wednesday GT

[mostonmike]

Screenshot_20240529_085201_Brave.jpg (118.08 KiB) Viewed 328 times

Respect to Verlander, 39th regular season game against the Mariners tonight and has a career ERA of just 3.02 against us. Averages 6⅔ innings per outing by the way.

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Go Ms

[Seattle or Bust]

I just don't understand the massive slumps EVERY one of our players goes through.

Cal is 3 for his last 23, 11 for his last 53... 19 K's and just 1 walk in his last 53 AB's.

Raley is just 2 for his last 21...

Rojas went on a big 2 for 25 or so slump before sort of climbing out of it.

Why does this shit always happen?

Why can't a slump be like a 6 for 23 for these guys?

[gil]

I'd guess that 6 for 23 is a "slump" for a .300 hitter, but that someone with a lifetime BA of .216 (e.g., Cal) is more likely to go through 3 for 23 stretches. And 11 for 53 with 19Ks are both close to his career averages. But yeah, I wish he was a more consistent hitter too.

[Millikin]

The problem is having 6/9 in slumps at the same time, plus guys who aren't in slumps getting benched for platoons.

That said, if 1 or 2 more guys get their act together at the same time, Mariners could rack up wins like crazy.

[Seattle or Bust]

I'd guess that 6 for 23 is a "slump" for a .300 hitter, but that someone with a lifetime BA of .216 (e.g., Cal) is more likely to go through 3 for 23 stretches. And 11 for 53 with 19Ks are both close to his career averages. But yeah, I wish he was a more consistent hitter too.

I don't think the organizations hope was that Cal was going to forever be a .215/.310/.450 hitter...

The guy had 26 game hitting streak in Tacoma.

I continue to be under no illusion that unless Cal takes a leap to being like a .250/.350/.500 hitter and Julio takes a leap to be a .300/.380/.520 hitter... that the M's have a hope of a World Title...

It's actually pretty fucking embarrassing for the organization that both of them are in year 3 and have regressed. Year 3 is usually the year superstars take off.

[XpertDBA]

The bigger question is, why does every hitter regress a lot when they come to Seattle?

At this point, doesn't it almost have to be coaching? That's the only constant.

[Seattle or Bust]

The bigger question is, why does every hitter regress a lot when they come to Seattle?

At this point, doesn't it almost have to be coaching? That's the only constant.

I think it's less about coaching and more about culture.

There is nothing about being a Seattle Mariner that is inherently motivating. I've always felt you need a Pinella type to generate that sort of thing.

Nothing more infuriating to me than "that's baseball."

I think it takes away control and power that an athlete has over outcome.

[XpertDBA]

So it takes either a rah-rah Pete Carroll cheerleading type, telling them how great they are, or a Lou Pinella yelling and screaming to motivate Seattle hitters to perform up to even minimal standards? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

There has to be some coaching involved to teach these guys the fundamentals of being disciplined, working counts, fighting off 2 strike pitches, and mental stuff like that. Why are the 2 strike swings so horrible looking where they're not even close most of the time? I remember Bret Boone choking down and purposely not trying to power hit with 2 strikes when he was a hot hitter for us. Why don't more hitters try different approaches with 2 strikes. No, it's just more of the same, game after game after game. Take the huge HR cuts, and whiff completely. I would argue that these things can be coached somehow, and they're not being done.

[D-train]

I just don't understand the massive slumps EVERY one of our players goes through.

Cal is 3 for his last 23, 11 for his last 53... 19 K's and just 1 walk in his last 53 AB's.

Raley is just 2 for his last 21...

Rojas went on a big 2 for 25 or so slump before sort of climbing out of it.

Why does this shit always happen?

Why can't a slump be like a 6 for 23 for these guys?

6-23 is a hot streak for most of them!

[Seattle or Bust]

So it takes either a rah-rah Pete Carroll cheerleading type, telling them how great they are, or a Lou Pinella yelling and screaming to motivate Seattle hitters to perform up to even minimal standards? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

There has to be some coaching involved to teach these guys the fundamentals of being disciplined, working counts, fighting off 2 strike pitches, and mental stuff like that. Why are the 2 strike swings so horrible looking where they're not even close most of the time? I remember Bret Boone choking down and purposely not trying to power hit with 2 strikes when he was a hot hitter for us. Why don't more hitters try different approaches with 2 strikes. No, it's just more of the same, game after game after game. Take the huge HR cuts, and whiff completely. I would argue that these things can be coached somehow, and they're not being done.

You're asking why veterans crash and burn coming here. I didn't discount coaching, I just said I think it's not as important as culture.

Want to know how I know? The culture around motivation in the M's clubhouse is apparently so bad that Carlos Santana had to fix it.